自1980年代以來，台灣逐漸由威權政體轉變為民主政體的國家。而成為民主政體的首要條件，普遍認為必須具備選舉的功能。選舉提供了候選人公平競爭的管道，並且賦予民眾基本的政治參與權利。不過，選舉必然會產生選舉輸家，過去有學者便認為，若選舉輸家產生不服輸的心態將可能對民主體制的存續產生嚴重威脅。因此，探究選舉輸家的政治後果將是政治學界與實務界中非常重要的議題。 本研究認為2012年的總統選舉是競爭激烈的一個年度，相當適合作為輸家研究的案例。藉由檢閱過去輸家研究的文獻，本研究發現，輸家將可能對選舉的公平性產生質疑，甚至不認同多數統治的運作模式。另外，基於對執政黨的不滿，輸家亦將可能參與較激進的政治參與行為。 研究結果顯示，敗選確實是影響民眾各種政治態度與行為的關鍵因素。過去文獻所指，輸家比起其他選民，將會在政治態度與行為上出現顯著差異的論點，亦應證在我國2012年總統選舉的案例中。另外，本研究亦發現影響民眾政治態度與行為的關鍵因素，亦可能來自於對「多數專制」的擔憂。 Since the 1980s, the political system in Taiwan has gradually transformed from authoritarian to democracy. The key to democracy is election. Election not only provides a fair competition for candidates but also gives the basic right of political participation to the public. However, the elections will inevitably produce election losers. Some scholars argue that if the losers disagree with the election’s results, they might be a serious threat to the survival of democratic institutions. Therefore, the discussion of the political consequences of the election loser is an important issue in the academic and practice fields. This study suggests that the presidential election in 2012 in Taiwan is an appropriate case for discussion. According to the past literature, election losers tend to question the fairness of the election and even the mode of operation for the majority rule. In addition, based on dissatisfaction with the incumbent government, the losers will have more political participation behaviors. The results demonstrate that, defeat is really affecting people''s political attitudes and behaviors. Literature mentioned that losers’ political attitudes and behaviors will be significantly differences with other voters. This argument agrees with the 2012 presidential election. In addition, the study also finds that "tyranny of majority" will affect people''s political attitudes and behaviors.
